Photo Gallery

Newland Fete 2012

This year Newland fete hosted by the Beauchamp Community
was held on Saturday 30th June 2012, sharing the proceeds with The Save The
Children Fund whose volunteers organised stalls. Also on offer was a talk about the history of the community
chapel by Father Mark.

The weather throughout June had been mostly wet, but
fortunately the rain held off and the sun peeped through the clouds. Here
are some photos of the event, including a little about the history of the
alms-houses.

We entered through the archway into a large grass
quadrangle. Above the archway is an impressive clock tower.

Plaque

There is a plaque on the wall of the clock tower that reads:

The electric winding on this clock was installed by his
American kinsmen as a memorial to the Honourable Richard Lygon who died on
February 24th 1970.

Richard Lygon (1916 - 1970) was the youngest son of
Wiliam Lygon the 7th Earl Beauchamp. Richard did not succeed to the title
because he died before his elder brother William the 8th Earl. William left no male heir.

Brass band

The photo below looks west across the quadrangle. To the right under an umbrella you
might just see the ice cream seller who brought his New York style barrow from Worcester.
We got a couple of yummy cornets there.

On the left of the photo below you can see the honey tent where fresh honey from the hives in the garden of the community could be purchased.

History of the alms-houses

We were told in a talk about the history of the chapel that Charlotte
Scott the wife of the 3rd Earl Beauchamp, John
Reginald Pyndar Lygon, thought it
unfair that after a lifetime of service on the Madresfield estate, elderly
agricultural labourers were forced to leave their tied cottages to make way
for younger workers. Charlotte died in 1846 leaving funds in her will for
the building of alms-houses at Newland. Her husband John married again and
died in 1853, but it was not until about 1864 that the alms-houses now known
as the Beauchamp Community were completed. This suggests most of the
building work took place during the tenure of the 4th Earl Beauchamp General
Henry Lygon who died in 1863.

A feature of the alms-houses is the ornate chimneys which
must have added significantly to the cost of the buildings.

Little is said about John and Charlotte in the book 'Madresfield the Real
Brideshead' published in 2008.

John who married Charlotte in 1814 changed his surname from Lygon to
Pyndar and we wondered why. The reason is straightforward. William Lygon
died 1721 and left no living male heir, so the family descended through Margaret
Lygon who married Reginald Pyndar. This also explains why John's youngest
brother, who became an army officer, was called Edward Pyndar Lygon.

Lady Charlotte Scott was the daughter of John
Henry
Scott (1739 - 1798) who was born in Ireland and became an MP and
Barrister.

The Beauchamp Community chapel

The present chapel building dates from about 1867. The
interior is beautifully decorated with many frescoes illustrating bible
stories.